Belgium sold for 10 million euros on eBay! Well, almost.
Last week, Gerrit Six, a Belgian teacher and former journalist, fed up with the country’s separatist politics, posted his country on the eBay website, putting it up for sale to the highest bidder. The offer read “For Sale: Belgium, a Kingdom in three parts … free premium: the king and his court (costs not included).” Free delivery was included in the deal but so was a 220 billion euro national debt.
The ad was a way for Six to express his frustration with the country’s inner political turmoil. The power struggle between the French-speaking Walloons and the Dutch-speaking Flemish has left Belgium in political limbo for 100 days now, since the last elections in June. The Flemish are demanding more autonomy, primarily to force the poorer Wallonia region to become more accountable. But as the Walloons, who desire a stronger federal government, resist demands from the Flemish, it seems impossible for the political parties to form a government coalition. Belgians are worried the kingdom is one the verge of breaking up into pieces. A poll by the Belgian daily Het Laatse Nieuws found that two-thirds of all Flemings believe the country is destined to split and almost half would welcome such a disintegration of Belgium.
Six’s ad boasts of Belgium’s attractions: great beer, art nouveau architecture and the fact that it is the headquarters of both NATO and the European Union. “My proposal was to make it clear that Belgium was valuable, it’s a masterpiece and we have to keep it,” he told Associated Press Television News. “It’s my country and I’m taking care of it, and with me are millions of Belgians.” Ebay was happy to take the ad, explains Peter Burn, eBay Belgium’s PR Manager. “It was a really fun listing made by a Belgian. This person, in a very funny way, reminded the Belgians what a great country Belgium actually is and it would be a shame to sell it.” That sale came close to happening. After Six received a bid of 10 million Euro for his country, eBay pulled the ad. “Just to avoid confusion,” Burn told APTN.
This article was published Tuesday, September 25, 2007.
